Editing Skeleton (computer programming) (section)

{{Short description|Design pattern in software development}}
{{for|the use in distributed object communication|Distributed object communication#Skeleton}}
{{redirect|Dummy code|dummy coding|Categorical variable}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
'''Skeleton programming''' is a style of [[computer programming]] based on simple high-level program structures and so called '''dummy code'''. Program skeletons resemble [[pseudocode]], but allow [[parsing]], [[compiler|compilation]] and testing of the code.  Dummy code is inserted in a program skeleton to simulate processing and avoid [[compiler|compilation]] error messages. It may involve empty [[subroutine|function]] declarations, or functions that return a correct result only for a simple test case where the expected response of the code is known.

Skeleton programming facilitates a [[Top-down and bottom-up design|top-down]] design approach, where a partially functional system with complete high-level structures is designed and coded, and this system is then progressively expanded to fulfill the requirements of the project.  Program skeletons are also sometimes used for high-level descriptions of [[algorithm]]s.  A program skeleton may also be utilized as a template that reflects syntax and structures commonly used in a wide class of problems.

Skeleton programs are utilized in the [[template method design pattern]] used in [[object-oriented programming]]. In [[object-oriented programming]], dummy code corresponds to an [[abstract method]], a [[method stub]] or a [[mock object]]. In the [[Java remote method invocation]] (Java RMI) nomenclature, a [[Stub (computer science)|stub]] communicates on the client-side with a skeleton on the [[server-side]].<ref>{{cite book
 | last1         = Freeman
 | first1        = Eric
 | last2         = Freeman
 | first2        = Elisabeth 
 | last3         = Kathy
 | first3        = Sierra
 | last4         = Bert
 | first4        = Bates
 | editor1-last  = Hendrickson
 | editor1-first = Mike
 | editor2-last  = Loukides
 | editor2-first = Mike
 | year          = 2004
 | title         = Head First Design Patterns
 | volume        = 1
 | page          = 440
 | publisher     = O'REILLY
 | format        = paperback
 | isbn          = 978-0-596-00712-6
 | access-date    = 2012-08-28
 | url           = http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596007126.do
}}</ref>

A '''class skeleton''' is an outline of a [[class (computer science)|class]] that is used in [[software engineering]]. It contains a description of the class's roles, and describes the purposes of the [[Variable (programming)|variables]] and [[method (computer science)|method]]s, but does not implement them. The class is later [[implementation|implemented]] from the skeleton. The skeleton can also be known as either an [[Interface (computing)|interface]] or an [[abstract class]], with languages that follow a polymorphic paradigm.